


One Shots From All Started With A Smell

by o0BlackSand0o



Series: Scent [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-11-13 06:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11178687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/o0BlackSand0o/pseuds/o0BlackSand0o
Summary: One shots from my other Naruto story that either didn't fit into that one or were written after the event. Some are requests I've received from fans and others are scenes I wanted to add but couldn't.





	1. Facing The Cold In The Forest

**_Scene mentioned in chapter 37. Deserving._ **

 

 

“Are you sure there are rogue ninjas in the south forest?” a boy whispered, looking at his smug looking friend.

 

“Yeah, my uncle said they are in the bingo book.” The leader of the little group looked around before grinning. “Come on, we can get rid of that nuisance.”

 

A small, blond boy walked up to them, flinching under their gaze before smiling. “Hey, guys, what’s going on?”

 

“Oh, we were just talking about going to play in the south forest.” The boy smiled, looking at his friends so that they would nod along. “Did you want to join us?”

 

“Yeah, that would be great.” Naruto grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

 

“Alright, but we have to go have dinner first. So we’ll meet you in the forest in an hour. If you get there early, just wait around for us. Or yell out, we might just be looking for you.” With that, the group left Naruto in the street, looking giddy. Net moment, Naruto ran off.

 

Shikamaru sighed, looking down at the street from the bridge. He knew the blond had recently joined his class, and honestly he wasn’t a fan of him. He was loud, brightly coloured, and something about him gave Shikamaru a headache. It reminded him of times when his dad was working on a complex puzzle far above Shikamaru’s skills that he couldn’t work out. Even so, he didn’t understand why people were so mean to him. Truthfully he was actually kind of funny. Until he had joined the class, Shikamaru had never seen Iruka-Sensei’s face turn so red and puffy. Naruto certainly didn’t deserve to be hurt or killed.

 

Thinking over the situation, Shikamaru went to find someone who could help him. His father was on a mission with his Uncle Choza and Uncle Inoichi, so they were out of the question. He knew he needed a ninja, not just a regular adult. One of the Uchiha police might be able to help, but they were sometimes a bit brutal. His father had said that distrust between them and the Leaf villagers breed more distrust. Unfortunately, Shikamaru needed someone who would help him stop Naruto from going to the forest. He stumbled upon a ninja with white, spiky hair and dead eyes, but chose to keep looking. The man honestly scared him and Shikamaru may have squeaked at the mere sight of him. He finally found Iruka-Sensei, who was exiting a take away shop. He told his teacher what had happened and who the boys were, biting back a word that his mother would ground him for when he realised he had taken almost an hour to find someone.

 

Iruka-Sensei dropped his food, stammering out that he would find someone to help handle the rogue ninjas and set out to find Naruto. He told Shikamaru to go to the classroom and wait for Iruka-Sensei to return and write up a report. He started making his way to the academy.  However, he found himself entering the south forest with a shutter. It was becoming dark, long shadows stretching across the ground. Rubbing his arms, that were starting to feel numb with cold, he looked around for Naruto. After wondering around for a few minutes, he found Naruto curled up against a tree trunk, shivering. He flinched when Shikamaru walked up to him. He crawled away, looking nothing like the loudmouth that he knew from class.

 

“It’s okay,” Shikamaru said softly. He sat down next to the blond, trying to share some warmth. “Iruka-Sensei is looking for us. We should head back to the academy so he can find us. It’ll be nice there.”

 

Naruto sniffled before shifting, showing Shikamaru his swollen, purple, ankle. He whimpered at the movement of his leg. “It hurts. I had to run from some men.”

 

“They are rogue ninjas. You’re lucky you got away.” Shikamaru took Naruto’s calf, looking at the ankle. He made sure to be gentle as he inspected the injury. It was hard to tell if it was sprained or broken. Either way, the boy couldn’t walk on it. With a sigh, Shikamaru put Naruto’s leg down slowly before wrapping his arm around Naruto’s shoulders, pulling him close. The blond tensed in his arms, his shoulder digging into his side. “We’re both cold, that’s why I… um… have my arm around you.”

 

Naruto stayed rigid. After an extended silence, Naruto whispered in a timid voice, “why are you helping me?”

 

“Because I heard those guys telling you to come here. They were trying to hurt you. You don’t deserve that.”

 

“But you could have gotten hurt coming here.”

 

“So?”

 

When Naruto started shaking violently, Shikamaru held him tighter. Their arms had paled, turning blue. He had never realised how small the blond boy was before. As Shikamaru rubbed his arm to try and give him some warmth he had to be careful to not use too much pressure. The last thing he wanted was to break the boy’s arm. He was small enough that Shikamaru could probably pick him up but he was scared about dropping Naruto and having him shatter.

 

“There you are!” Iruka-Sensei exclaimed, only to notice Shikamaru tucked in tight between a tree root and Naruto. “What are you doing here, Shikamaru?”

 

Apparently Shikamaru’s shrug was not the right answer. Iruka-Sensei clenched his jaw. He scanned over Naruto before noticing his ankle. He scooped the blond up, giving Shikamaru a frown. Their teacher was fighting so hard to stop himself from yelling that his face turned purple. He took them to the hospital where a Healer that seemed to know Naruto came over, wrapping them both in thick blankets before seeing to the blonde’s ankle. The young healer, who barely looked seventeen, waited until Iruka-Sensei had marched off to see how the rogue ninjas had been dealt with before chuckling.

 

“He looks like an eggplant.”

 

The two eight year olds laughed, their shivering having subsided. Once Naruto’s ankle was wrapped, the Healer went and got them hot chocolates.

 

“I pinched some marshmallows for you two.” He winked at Naruto who giggled.

 

“Thanks, Eiji.”

 

“No problem, kid. You two stay here and warm up. We have to make sure you don’t get sick.”

 

/ / / / /

 

Three days later it was all over the school that the four boys that tricked Naruto were expelled from the academy. Shikamaru was happy to hear that Iruka-Sensei hadn’t gone easy on them after what they had done. The rogue ninjas had put one of the ninjas Iruka-Sensei sent after them in the hospital. Naruto wouldn’t have stood a chance.

 

Shikamaru was walking home, glad that Naruto was back at school, his ankle looking fine. The dark haired boy stopped when he noticed the four boys walking towards him. Unfortunately he was in a remote street on the way home, so there was no one around to help him. It was clear from the way they held themselves that they had tracked him down to fight. It shouldn’t have surprised him that somehow they had found out who had talk on them. Things like that never truly stayed a secret.

 

He fought back the best he could but all four boys were older, bigger, and stronger than he was. He blacked one boy’s eye but one was able to grab him from behind, pinning his arms and allowing their leader to punch Shikamaru in the stomach repeatedly. When he was winded they threw him to the ground, kicking him repeatedly. The largest of the group stomped down on Shikamaru’s arm. The Nara boy felt his arm crack, pain exploding through the limp. He gave a yell, only for the sound to echo back at him in another voice. Through tears, Shikamaru looked up to see his cousin punch one of the boys in the jaw, dropping him to the ground.

 

“Get the hell away from my cousin!” Ryota scared off the boys before turning to Shikamaru, noticing how the younger Nara cradled his arm. “Are you alright?”

 

“I think my arm is broken.”

 

Slowly, Ryota helped Shikamaru to his feet, getting him to the hospital. The whole time Ryota grumbled about the boys, telling Shikamaru that he would find them and beat them up for what they had done. Although Shikamaru told him to forget about it, it was clear that he wasn’t going to do so. When Ryota asked what had caused the boys to attack, the younger boy waved him off, not wanting to explain everything that had happened. The broken arm was worth it if it meant the tiny boy in his class wasn’t dead. After all, he did make Shikamaru laugh.

 

**_Hope you all liked. R and R._ **


	2. Uchiha Estate

Sasuke’s POV

 

He took a shaky breath before unlocking the padlock. The chain on the gate fell away with a loud rattle. With a hard shove, the gate swung open. He looked at the blonde next to him who gave him a smile and a waiting look. Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, he took a step into the Uchiha Estate. Naruto stayed a beat behind him, letting him take everything in at his own pace.

 

The shadows of his family followed him around as he walked the familiar, weathered path to his old house. When he was facing the door, his feet moved him away, leading him to the wharf jutting out over the pond. He sat down at the end, his feet dangling over the crystal surface. He looked over at Naruto when she ungracefully dropped down beside him.

 

“This place,” she paused as though checking her next words, “must have been a nice place to live.”

 

He nodded, flinching at the implications Naruto had tried to avoid. With a sigh, Sasuke found his voice. “This was where my dad taught me the Fireball Jutsu. It took me ages to get it. My brother got it straight away so I thought my dad was disappointed in me. But when I got it, I think he was proud at my effort. I like to think that, anyways.”

 

“I’m sure he was, Sasuke. You’re a powerful ninja… even if you are annoying.”

 

He couldn’t help but snort. Before long he found himself describing different memories he had of his parents and clansmen. He told her about his mother’s odd habit of getting redecoration ideas in the middle of the night and reorganising the entire living room, kitchen, and even Sasuke’s room around three in the morning more than once. Shusui, who was a man that if you saw him smiling you knew to run in the other direction and pray he wasn’t after you. Sasuke was surprised that he was able to mention the day Shusui had used his eyes on Itachi to make him hopefully infatuated with a girl from the village without pain. It had lead to some embarrassing moments for his usually stoic brother including a horrible attempt at poetry that Sasuke was certain had been put into Itachi’s mind by Shusui, since his brother had no liking to poetry. Sasuke still saw the girl around the village and couldn’t help but smile at her and talk to her when given the chance. He hated his brother but she was still a trigger to a pleasant memory he never wanted to give up. He had had to fight the urge to punch a man that started to flirt with her a month ago. Apparently part of his brain still saw her as ‘Itachi’s future wife’ as Shusui often sung at the mere mention of her name.

 

“Well, I don’t think she would hate the thought that you see her as family,” Naruto commented softly when Sasuke told her about his view of her.

 

Sasuke smiled bitterly. “I think she can do a lot better than my brother.” Swallowing his hate, he turned to Naruto. “What about your parents? I know they are… you know, but I wouldn’t mind knowing which one you got your insanity from.”

 

Naruto shrugged. “I don’t have any stories. I don’t even know who my parents are.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be. Others ask me at times as a way to insult me. A couple of kids have said that it’s better they are dead then having to be associated with me.”

 

“Tell them you’re a Uchiha, it’ll make people too uncomfortable to say anything.” He smirked when Naruto laughed.

 

The blonde laid down on the wooden planks of the wharf. “But I’m happy to listen to your stories. I can always pretend they’re mine.”

 

With a laugh, Sasuke laid down beside Naruto. “Having you as an annoying sister would have made life… interesting. Shusui would have loved you. He would have encouraged your pranking, mainly towards my brother. The funny thing is that those two were best friends. My brother looked up the Shusui. Admittedly, it was hard to not like that guy. He was powerful, but humble, always had time for those around the village, and could make even my dad crack a smile, and that wasn’t easy.”

 

After a few hours Sasuke’s throat became dry from talking. Still looking up at the clouds drifting overhead, the boy sighed. “Thank you for coming here with me. I haven’t been able to enter the place since… then. But with the Chunin exams coming up I wanted to visit this place, and remind myself what I’m working so hard for. I wanted to bring you because I knew you’d appreciate it and not ask questions I’m not willing to answer. Not only that but… Sakura has said some things about orphans that made me uncomfortable.” He grinned. “You should be careful if you want to make a move on her.”

 

“I don’t like girls!” Naruto stated in exasperation, making Sasuke snigger. Naruto sat up, crossing her legs and looking down at the boy. “But I’m glad you brought me here. Even if I want to push you in the pond.” Naruto took a relaxing sigh. “I think we will do really well in the Chunin exams.”

 

“In all honesty I’m worried about Sakura. I know she’s good with chakra control and theory, but I’m concerned that she hasn’t made much advancement in actual battle.” When Naruto stayed silent, possibly confused, Sasuke went on. “Whenever we are in battle, she stays back, guarding our client… or just staying back. I want to believe that she’s doing that to make sure we don’t get ambushed from behind but I’m starting to worry that she feels we can handle ourselves well enough that she doesn’t have a place in the fights. That is going to hurt her in the long run. If she went in the direction of a medical ninja that would fix that problem and she would probably good at it, with her chakra control and her ability to quote information.”

 

“Maybe you should talk to her about it. She admires you, so she’ll probably work to make herself a great healer if you put the idea in her mind.” Naruto shrugged, looking around at the estate absentmindedly.

 

Sasuke could see the faraway look in her eyes and had a feeling that she was picturing what it would be like to have grown up in the Clan before the horrific tragedy.

 

“That’s why I haven’t mentioned anything to her. She’ll do it to impress me.” He could feel his cheeks warming at the thought. “It’s not fun having her drool over me… especially when I am talking to her.”

 

Naruto snorted. “And she says I’m a pervert.”

 

“You’re too much of an idiot to be a pervert.”

 

“Teme!”

 

“At least I have someone crushing on me!” Sasuke taunted.

 

“At least I don’t get covered in drool whenever Sakura is around.”

 

“Yeah, instead you get hit on the head.”

 

Naruto touched the crown of her head with a comical wince. “I hope she stops that when we get older.”

 

“Once you mature I’m sure she’ll be out of reasons to.” Sasuke stood, brushing any dirt off his pants that might have clung to them. “If she becomes a medical ninja she’ll have to.”

 

“In that case, please tell her to join the hospital,” Naruto dramatically begged as she jumped to her feet.

 

Sasuke laughed, leading Naruto off the wharf. When he closed the gate as they left, he chose to leave the chain and padlock off. With it gone, the estate looked like it was asleep and waiting to be awoken rather than haunted and abandoned by its only remaining member. Standing straighter than he had since deciding to visit the estate, Sasuke turned, smiling when Naruto complained about her hunger and dragged him off to get ramen.

 

**_Hope you all like. I had to take a break from the overload of writing chapter 54 for the main story line and wrote this instead. R and R._ **


	3. Why's There Cake?

Naruto’s POV

 

She held her breath as the pounding on the door finally stopped. Slowly creeping towards it, her hand hovering over her weapon’s pouch, she waited for the door to rattle. Her heart was pounding in her throat. Her body screamed for her to run but also to stay perfectly still. The voice had to have been a trick. The only time people came to her door on this day was when they were drunk and filled with too much anger. This one must have been a ninja that was either still good at transformations whilst drunk or was her first ever sober ‘guest’ to haunt her day.

 

When the door sat harmlessly and quietly in its frame she released the air that had been pressing painfully into her lungs. Naruto was used to people hammering on her door throughout this day, and although they would get distracted or bored when she didn’t open the door, she still kept her weapon’s pouch close and full.

 

With silence ringing through the apartment Naruto slowly made her way back to her bedroom where her abandoned book waiting. She had barely read three lines before she heard a noise. Pausing to listen closely, she tensed, ready to jump up. There was a grunt, a thud, and then a swear. Fear coursed through her veins as she realised the noise was coming from the balcony connected to her bedroom. Turning her head slowly she spied a silhouette through her curtains. Throwing herself off the bed she pulled a kunai out, getting ready to face whoever it was on the other side of the door. Her mind screamed at her to run, but she had nowhere to go. The moment she exited her apartment she would be targeted.

 

The balcony door rattled before she heard the distinct sound of a key sliding into a slot. Her eyes widened and she wondered why he would betray her like that. She had thought he was better than Varric. Taking a deep breath, Naruto listened as the glass door was slid open, the curtains fluttering at the breeze. The fabric was ripped aside violently, making Naruto squeak.

 

“Idiot, why wouldn’t you answer the door?” the figure snapped. “And Kakashi-Sensei told you to give one of us your _house_ key, not your porch key.”

 

Naruto swallowed thickly, trying to registered that she was not, in fact, being attacked. Sasuke stood in front of her, looking exasperated as he held a box in one hand by the string tied around it. He seemed to realised something was wrong with his teammate because his expression softened. Walking slowly closer he lifted his hand, gently pushing Naruto’s hand down and taking the kunai from her grasp.

 

“Are you alright?” Sasuke asked softly, frowning as he looked into Naruto’s eyes.

 

“Um, yeah, I just wasn’t expecting a visitor,” Naruto lied, trying to force a smile. “What brings you here?”

 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in that mocking way that he knew annoyed Naruto. “It’s your birthday, Teme.”

 

Naruto rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t answer my question, idiot. Why are you here?”

 

The Uchiha frowned. “To give you a birthday present, obviously.”

 

Cocking her head to the side, Naruto stared at the boy as though he was speaking another language. “Why would you give me a present just cause it’s my birthday? Is it a Uchiha thing?”

 

“No, it’s no… um, yeah, it is.” Sasuke smiled. “But if you don’t want your present, I can leave.”

 

He dangled the box in front of her nose by its string before moving it out of her reach. The blonde huffed, crossing her arms. With a laugh Sasuke handed her the box, warning her to put it down before opening it. She led him into the kitchen, putting the box on her kitchen table before pulling at the string. When she opened the lid of the box she couldn’t help but stare in confusion. There was a large, white lump in the box with blue, messy squiggles. She couldn’t tell if it was the fact that she wasn’t particularly good at reading or if the words were just scribbles, but there were indecipherable words in orange over the white lump.

 

“Um… thank you?”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “It’s a cake. You like sweets so I found my mum’s cake recipe for you.”

 

Naruto grinned, looking down at the cake. “Oh, thanks a heap, Sasuke.” Squinting she thought she could just make out ‘Happy Birthday, Naruto’, or at least that’s what she hoped she saw. She went to get a knife only for Sasuke to stop her.

 

“Don’t you want me to light the candles?” He held up a pack of candles he had produced from his pocket. “So, you know, you can blow them out and make a wish?”

 

“Is that another Uchiha tradition?”

 

Sasuke paused, seeming to have an internal debate. “Um, yeah, though I think others in the village follow the tradition too, so when you get older, you might find others doing it too.”

 

“Oh, good to know, thanks.” Naruto smiled, moving back to stand at the table as Sasuke started sticking candles into the lump and lighting them with a match. She stared at the flickering flames before turning to Sasuke. “Now what?”

 

“Usually people sing, but I’m not doing that, so make a wish in your head and blow out the candles.”

 

“Ar, okay.” She thought over what she wanted, with nothing really coming to mind. She had never wished for anything before. Anything she really wanted, like the village’s respect, or to graduate, she worked for. She didn’t see how wishing would help. But then, she could always wish for something that she had no real control over, something that she had to hope for. Hope was similar to wishing, wasn’t it? _I wish that Sasuke can one day be happy and open to people._ She blew out the candles, returning Sasuke’s smile with a grin.

 

Sasuke, who had been in her house a number of times, went and retrieved two forks, handing one to Naruto with a rare grin.

 

“This is how Shusui and I used to eat cakes. It drove Itachi mad. He liked to cut the cake into equal parts so that no one would get sick. He could never get us to stop.”

 

With a laugh Naruto stabbed at the cake. She happily put the large bite into her mouth. Within seconds she had to fight the urge to spit it out. Schooling her expression, she gave Sasuke a thumbs up, forcing herself to swallow the mouthful.

 

“It’s really good.”

 

Grinning, Sasuke put some cake his own mouth only to quickly spit it into his hand. “What the hell?”

 

Naruto laughed. “Oh, good, so it’s not meant to taste like that.”

 

“No,” Sasuke yelped, looking down at the cake in horror. “That’s not even close. What could have gone wrong?”

 

“Sasuke,” Naruto started, as though comforting a small child, “is it possible that you got the sugar and the salt mixed up.” Sasuke groaned. As she sniggered she swiped a finger through the frosting. “If it makes you feel better the icing still tastes good.”

 

With a laugh Sasuke followed Naruto’s example, helping her to eat the frosting smeared on top of the cake. As Naruto licked her fingers clean Sasuke looked around her house, noticing the three deadbolts on her door. They were something Inoichi had insisted on installing after her attack. She had no doubt that Sasuke had noticed how all three were latched.

 

“Do you even have food in this place?”

 

“Yeah, Old Man tends to buy me a bunch of groceries the day before my birthday… forgetting that I can’t actually cook. But I can make instant ramen and sandwiches.”

 

“That’s what you’re having for your birthday?” the boy asked in shock.

 

“I rarely have sandwiches so it’s a nice change.”

 

Sasuke stood. “What’s the chances of you leaving the apartment, or even unlocking the door?”

 

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” She was thankful when Sasuke chose not to question why she refusing to leave, instead choosing to move towards her bedroom.

 

“Then I’ll just have to use the balcony, just don’t attack me.”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“To get you a better birthday present,” he admitted before disappearing over the balcony.

 

It was almost an hour before Sasuke reappeared he carried a number of bags and the smell from them instantly made Naruto’s mouth water.

 

“There, idiot, Ichiraku Ramen, and I even bought desert. Saves you making sandwiches for your birthday dinner.”

 

Naruto was going to comment that she honestly didn’t mind sandwiches, especially since she rarely got them, but she decided she could have sandwiches tomorrow. She had never had a full dinner on her birthday, and she had never had dessert at all. The dessert that Sasuke had bought was some sort of cake shaped like a fish. It tasted better than Sasuke’s cake, something she chose to not mention. She rather liked the Uchiha’s birthday traditions.


	4. Red Faced

**_Merry Christmas, and to those who don’t celebrate happy holidays. I wasn’t able to update the actual story for xmas cause chapter 63 is going to take time but here is a one shot that was requested by a number of people. (Sorry it's a day late)_ **

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** Neji’s POV **

 

He sat up, looking at his hands to see how the damage on the knuckles was healing. When he turned them over and saw his palms he blushed. He shook his hands, trying to remove the memory currently clinging to them. He felt like a violator. He knew it wasn’t truly his fault. If he had known, he would have avoided… that area. He did with Tenten even though she didn’t really have much to avoid yet. But the other day, he had thought he was fighting a male. Why wouldn’t he? They had short hair, wore boy’s clothing, and… well Hinata had short hair, and he knew many females who chose to wear boy’s clothing. So why did he think Naruto was male on first sight?

 

Then again, he had noticed Hinata’s sigh filled gazes that she sent Naruto and had heard her refer to the blonde as ‘he’ so at least he knew he wasn’t alone with his confusion. He pondered for a moment about telling his cousin that her affections were aimed at a female. However, he realised that to tell anyone about his discovery would mean having to explain _how_ he discovered it. The mere thought of the circumstance made him blush so deeply that he felt dizzy.

 

“I practically molested her!” he whispered, mortified. With a shutter of disgust he started rubbing his hands furiously against the blanket on his bed. He knew he needed to apologise and confront what he had done but when he had seen Naruto at the funeral for those lost in the invasion he had ran the other way.

 

He decided that, given the topic, he should get advice before speaking with Naruto. The last thing he wanted was to make the situation worse. He thought about asking Hinata for her opinion but shuttered at the thought of her finding out what he had done to Naruto. Instead he pulled Tenten aside after practice that day, having spent most of the day trying to work out how to start the conversation.

 

“Tenten, I could use your guidance.” Neji fought the urge to fidget and schooled his expressions into those of cool detachment.

 

“What’s the matter, Neji?”

 

“As you are aware, my fighting style is that of Gentle Palm.” He cleared his throat as Tenten nodded, waiting for him to continue. “If I versed you without being aware that you were female, how would I effectively apologise for that?”

 

“Why wouldn’t you know I was a girl?” Tenten asked, frowning at him and crossing her arms over her chest.

 

“Because you don’t look like a female,” Neji explained, only to notice by the glare he received that he had said something wrong. “Why are you mad?”

 

“I _don’t_ look like a girl? What’s wrong with how I look?” Tenten snapped.

 

“Oh, I see.” He took a moment to think over his wording, though with every millisecond that Tenten stared at him he grew more anxious. “I was talking about you only because I have replaced the actual girl this happened to with you.”

 

Tenten gasped. “Oh. I see. Well, I would start by NOT saying that you didn’t realise they were a girl.”

 

“But how will I explain how I accidentally… um…”

 

“Why didn’t you know?”

 

“They dress in baggy, male clothing, have short hair, mostly male friends as far as I’ve seen, and she acts the way you’d expect a boy to act.”

 

“Are you sure they aren’t just a boy with a softer body than you expected?”

 

He tried to fight the blush but was certain that he failed. “No, I’m fairly certain that they are female. And so I know I need to apologise but I don’t want confront the issue in a way that insults her or makes her feel like an object or attacked. If the situation was reversed I wouldn’t want the person who… violated me to corner me and force me to accept their apology just so they would go away.”

 

“Alright, I see where you’re coming from.” Tenten sighed. “For starters, talk to her in a public area, but not in earshot of people. Make sure the space is open so she can walk away if she wants to, and lastly, don’t bring up the fact that you didn’t know she was a girl unless she asks, and try to spin it that you’re just dumb when it comes to genders. No need to make her feel bad.”

 

Neji repeated the information back to Tenten, making sure he had it correct before he thanked the girl. He went in search of Naruto shortly after, wishing to get the inevitable conflict over with. He remembered Guy-Sensei and Lee mentioning seeing Naruto at the ramen shop often so he started by heading there. When he had seen the blonde walking away from the food stand Neji was thankful he had remembered that bit of seemingly useless information.

 

When he was close enough he called out to Naruto, half wishing the girl wouldn’t hear him. She did and turned to look at him, shooting him a confused look. Taking a deep breath, Neji closed the distance between them, making sure to give Naruto enough space.

 

“I wish to speak with you.”

 

“Okay… about what?”

 

“The fact that you’re female,” he stated, before realising he might have chosen his opening statement poorly.

 

Naruto looked at him with horror before grabbing his arm and pulling him into a nearby alley. “What are you talking about?” she hissed.

 

“I just wanted to apologise for our fight. I use Gentle Palm and that means during our fight my hands may have… touched on inappropriate body parts of yours. I just wanted you to know that wasn’t intentional and I am very sorry for it.”

 

Naruto looked around in a panic before nodding quickly at him. “Fine, I accept your apology as long as you don’t tell anyone I’m female.”

 

He frowned. “Why wouldn’t you want people to know?”

 

“That’s none of your business, or do you want everyone asking how you found out?”

 

Blushing at the thought of everyone knowing, he shook his head. “No, you’re right, I don’t. I will keep your… secret.”

 

“Excellent and we can just pretend that this never happened.” With her eyes filled with what looked like terror Naruto turned and practically fled Neji’s sight. It wasn’t until he was making his way back to the Hyuga Estate that he realised that whilst his apology alleviated his own embarrassment, it may not have helped Naruto at all. If her behaviour was any indication she may have preferred it if he had never mentioned their fight and his discovery. He was filled with questions he knew he was unlikely to get answers for and the sight of his palms still caused a heavy blush to his cheeks.

 

Sighing, he just hoped that when Hinata found out Naruto’s gender she didn’t remember the fight between him and Naruto. He did not want his cousin realising what he had done to her friend.

 

**_Hope you all liked. R and R._ **


End file.
